matrix \ma"trix\ (m[=a]"tr[i^]ks), n.; pl. Matrices
(m[a^]t"r[i^]*s[=e]z). [L., fr. mater mother. See Mother,
and cf. Matrice.]
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1. (Anat.) The womb.
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All that openeth the matrix is mine. --Ex. xxxiv.
19.
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2. Hence: That which gives form or origin to anything; as:
(a) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and
which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face
of a type.
(b) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic
ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue.
(c) pl. (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white,
blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are
composed.
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3. (Biol.) The lifeless portion of tissue, either animal or
vegetable, situated between the cells; the intercellular
substance.
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4. (Math.) A rectangular arrangement of symbols in rows and
columns. The symbols may express quantities or operations.
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matrix
n 1: (mathematics) a rectangular array of quantities or
expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a
single element and manipulated according to rules
2: (geology) amass of fine-grained rock in which fossils,
crystals, or gems are embedded
3: an enclosure within which something originates or develops
(from the Latin for womb)
4: the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded [syn:
matrix, intercellular substance, ground substance]
5: the formative tissue at the base of a nail
6: mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or
other relief surface

Matrix
n.
[FidoNet]
1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call FidoNet.
2. Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to emerge from current
networking experiments (see the network). The name of the rather good
1999 cypherpunk movie The Matrix played on this sense, which however had
been established for years before.
3. The totality of present-day computer networks (popularized in this sense
by John Quarterman; rare outside academic literature).